Scottish Executive

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the provisions of the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000 are overridden by the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.

Peter Peacock: Section 40 of Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 allows the Secretary of State to make an order in relation to the education of residents of accommodation centres, were one to be set up in Scotland. Such an order could apply, disapply or modify the effect of an enactment including the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000.

  The 2002 act does not otherwise override the provisions of the 2000 act.

Cancer

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that women on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are advised of any possible links between HRT and the risk of breast cancer, following the publication of HRT and Breast Cancer: Results of the Million Women Study , and how it will ensure that pharmaceutical companies make this information available to women.

Malcolm Chisholm: To help health professionals advise women on the use of HRT, the Scottish Executive Health Department issued information about the results of the Million Women Study on 8 August 2003. This included an information leaflet for women, prepared by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which is an agency of the Department of Health and is responsible for regulating medicines and medical devices. All of this information is available at www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/publications/DC20030808HRT.pdf.

  The MHRA have confirmed that they will be requiring marketing authorisation holders of HRT products to update all patient information leaflets to reflect the new advice from the Committee on Safety of Medicines following publication of the Million Women Study.

Care of Elderly People

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many self-funding care home and nursing home residents there are now and how many there were at the latest date prior to July 2001 for which figures are available.

Mr Tom McCabe: The latest figures (31 March 2002) show there to be 3,494 residential care home residents funded wholly or mainly by private means. This compares with 3,387 at the 31 March 2001.

  At 31 March 2002, there were 4,582 self-funding residents in private nursing homes. This compares with 4,288 in March 2001.

  These figures all pre-date the introduction of free personal and nursing care policy.

Care of Elderly People

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people it estimated, prior to July 2001, would benefit from its free personal care policy and how many have benefited from the policy since it was introduced.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive has throughout taken the view that anyone who is assessed as in need of personal care would receive that care free. In agreeing the funding for the policy, account was taken of an increase in the demand for personal care in the community as a result of the policy, based on the work of the Care Development Group. Current monitoring, which is still being assessed, suggests that more than 42,000 people are receiving their personal care free.

Care of Elderly People

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average weekly cost of an accommodation place purchased from an independent care home provider was at the latest date prior to July 2001 for which figures are available and what the average weekly cost was at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Mr Tom McCabe: At 1 April 2001, average fees in homes without nursing care were £260 a week, and in homes with nursing care £336 a week. Under the agreement negotiated between COSLA and the independent sector, financial provision has been made by the Executive and local authorities for these fees to rise at 1 April 2003 to £346 and £406, i.e. increases of £86 (33%) a week and £70 (21%) a week respectively.

Contraception

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide support and confidential access to contraception, including the morning-after pill, to schoolchildren.

Malcolm Chisholm: Young people, where considered competent to give consent to medical treatment, can already have confidential access to contraceptive advice and supply from a number of sources, including general practitioners and sexual health clinics. The provision of sexual health services more generally, including for young people, will be a matter to be addressed in the proposed national sexual health strategy, which is currently being taken forward by an expert group, and which will be the subject of public consultation in the autumn.

Digital Technology

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how businesses in the south of Scotland will directly benefit from its Broadband Pathfinder project.

Tavish Scott: The Pathfinder Projects are aimed at broadband service provision for the public sector. Potentially, the supplier’s investment in broadband infrastructure in the South of Scotland Pathfinder area may also result in broadband being made available to business and the wider community, but this would be a decision for the supplier.

Drug Misuse

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to increase funding in Glasgow for drug addiction services since the report on estimating the national and local prevalence of problem drug misuse was published in November 2001.

Hugh Henry: NHS boards and local authorities were allocated resources for drug addiction services for the period 2001-02 to 2003-04. This gave Drug Action Teams and their local planning partners, for the first time, security of three-year funding to plan and deliver services for their areas. We have undertaken to take local prevalence information from the report into account in future allocations to NHS boards from 2004-05.

  Glasgow benefits significantly from Executive resources to tackle drug addiction. Greater Glasgow NHS Board receives nearly £4.5 million per annum for drug treatment services and Glasgow City Council receives £0.812 million per annum for rehabilitation within its Grant Aided Expenditure.

  Since 2001, Greater Glasgow NHS Board has also been allocated an additional £1.25 million to fund the treatment costs of the Glasgow Drug Court and £0.25 million to help support additional addiction services for the homeless, funded from recovered criminal assets. Glasgow also benefits from a number of other funding streams which impact on the drugs problem.

Football

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the report on the joint Scottish Football Association and Football Association of Ireland bid to host the European Football Championships in 2008 will be published and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Mr Frank McAveety: This was an internal report and for that reason it will not be published.

Health

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will extend the range of those illnesses that qualify for free prescriptions to include manic depression and cystic fibrosis.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is committed to reviewing NHS prescription charges for people with chronic health conditions and young people in full-time education or training. The detailed remit of the review is still under consideration and the consultation process has yet to be determined. Whatever the exact shape of the review, it is our firm intention to consult widely with patient interest groups, NHS professionals and other key stakeholders. When the review process is completed, the Executive will consider whether changes should be made to the current prescription charge exemption and remission arrangements.

Land Register

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the registers of land holdings to include options to purchase land.

Hugh Henry: The Registers of Scotland Executive Agency is responsible for maintaining registers relating to property and other legal documents, and in particular the two national registers of title and ownership of land, namely the Register of Sasines and the Land Register. Options to have a right of first purchase in the event of land coming up for sale, in the form of rights of pre-emption and redemption, can be registered in the appropriate register.

  The Scottish Law Commission is currently reviewing the operation of the Land Register, which was introduced by the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979. Scottish ministers will consider the outcome of this review.

  A new Register of Community Interests in Land will be introduced early in 2004. This register, which will be maintained by the Registers of Scotland, will hold registrations of interest in acquiring rural land made by community bodies, in terms of part 2 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. It will also hold registrations of interest in acquiring rented land which part 2 of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 permits certain agricultural tenants to make. Where a landowner proposes to sell land that is subject to a valid registration, the community body or tenant registering interest will have a pre-emptive right to purchase the land.

Local Government Elections

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering altering the date of the next local authority elections and, if so, what options are bring considered.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has no plans to change the date of the next local authority elections.

Local Government Finance

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority has received (a) in total and (b) per capita for sports development from (i) the National Lottery, (ii) central government and (iii) other sources, in each of the last three years.

Mr Frank McAveety: The only information available to this level of detail is the funding provided by  sportscotland direct to local authorities. For the purpose of drawing together this information, we have presumed that sports development covers grant funding for local authority posts and Lottery Sports Fund awards under the Sports Facilities, TOPS and School Sports Co-ordinators Programmes. The breakdown is set out in the following tables (based on 2001 census population figures).

  The revenue grant provided by the Executive to local authorities is essentially unhypothecated and it is up to each authority how it allocates these resources to meet its local needs and priorities. Details of how much each authority has received can be found in the local government finance circulars 9/1999, 3/2001 and 7/2002 which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 8310, 20316, and 26111 respectively).

  Local authorities also benefit from the £87 million made available under the New Opportunities Fund PE and Sport in Schools Programme. Each local authority area has been given a provisional allocation.

  Table 1

  Grant Funding for Local Authority Posts

  


District 
  

Financial Year 
  



2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  

2002-03 
  



Amount (£) 
  

Per Capita 
  

Amount (£) 
  

Per Capita 
  

Amount (£) 
  

Per Capita 
  



Aberdeen 
  

3,000 
  

0.01 
  

25,000 
  

0.12 
  

30,000 
  

0.14 
  



Angus 
  

15,500 
  

0.14 
  

55,000 
  

0.51 
  

65,000 
  

0.60 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

8,000 
  

0.09 
  

16,000 
  

0.18 
  



Borders Council 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

60,000 
  

0.56 
  

65,000 
  

0.61 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

55,000 
  

1.14 
  

30000 
  

0.62 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

50,000 
  

0.34 
  

50,000 
  

0.34 
  



Dundee 
  

43,250 
  

0.30 
  

60,000 
  

0.41 
  

65,000 
  

0.45 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

25,000 
  

0.21 
  

30,000 
  

0.25 
  



East Lothian 
  

25,000 
  

0.28 
  

53,000 
  

0.59 
  

63,000 
  

0.70 
  



Edinburgh City of 
  

12,719 
  

0.03 
  

110,500 
  

0.25 
  

97,550 
  

0.22 
  



Falkirk 
  

4,000 
  

0.03 
  

42,583 
  

0.29 
  

58,971 
  

0.41 
  



Fife Council 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

55,000 
  

0.16 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  



Glasgow 
  

56,000 
  

0.10 
  

85,000 
  

0.15 
  

12,000 
  

0.02 
  



Highland Council 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

45,000 
  

0.22 
  

126,000 
  

0.60 
  



Inverclyde 
  

25,000 
  

0.30 
  

50,000 
  

0.59 
  

60,000 
  

0.71 
  



Midlothian 
  

6,000 
  

0.07 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

25,000 
  

0.18 
  

30,000 
  

0.22 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

15,000 
  

0.05 
  

80,000 
  

0.25 
  

95,000 
  

0.30 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

25,000 
  

0.19 
  

75,000 
  

0.56 
  

79,600 
  

0.59 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

55,000 
  

0.32 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

25,000 
  

1.14 
  

30,000 
  

1.37 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

25,000 
  

0.22 
  

30,000 
  

0.27 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

23,000 
  

0.08 
  

95,000 
  

0.31 
  

100,000 
  

0.33 
  



Stirling 
  

70,000 
  

0.81 
  

179,000 
  

2.08 
  

170,000 
  

1.97 
  



West Lothian 
  

70,000 
  

0.44 
  

155,000 
  

0.97 
  

130,000 
  

0.82 
  



Western Isles (Islands Forum) 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

40,000 
  

1.51 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  



Total 
  

393,469 
  
 

1,533,083 
  
 

1,433,121 
  
 



  Table 2

  Sportscotland Lottery Fund

  Summary of Awards Where Local Authority is the Recipient

  


Local Authority 
  

Financial Year 
  



2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  

2002-03 
  



Total (£) 
  

Per Capita 
  

Total (£) 
  

Per Capita 
  

Total (£) 
  

Per Capita 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

144,552 
  

0.68 
  

83,880 
  

0.40 
  

202,974 
  

0.96 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

238,124 
  

1.05 
  

144,264 
  

0.64 
  



Angus 
  

79,870 
  

0.74 
  

7,340 
  

0.07 
  

47,040 
  

0.43 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

496,332 
  

5.44 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

94,948 
  

1.04 
  



City of Edinburgh 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

149,180 
  

0.33 
  

1,042,947 
  

2.32 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

34,630 
  

0.72 
  

39,000 
  

0.81 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

651,720 
  

4.41 
  

30,000 
  

0.20 
  

411,350 
  

2.78 
  



Dundee City 
  

54,940 
  

0.38 
  

40,269 
  

0.28 
  

212,189 
  

1.46 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

75,940 
  

0.63 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

195,020 
  

1.62 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

49,660 
  

0.46 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  



East Lothian 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

45,850 
  

0.51 
  

29,882 
  

0.33 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

500,000 
  

5.59 
  

196,000 
  

2.19 
  

753,609 
  

8.43 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

122,500 
  

4.63 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

1,516,730 
  

57.34 
  



Falkirk 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

1,111,605 
  

7.65 
  

200,566 
  

1.38 
  



Fife 
  

1,203,504 
  

3.44 
  

676,453 
  

1.93 
  

191,157 
  

0.55 
  



Glasgow City 
  

326,440 
  

0.56 
  

5,487,000 
  

9.48 
  

451,388 
  

0.78 
  



Highland 
  

1,597,026 
  

7.64 
  

592,860 
  

2.84 
  

665,414 
  

3.19 
  



Inverclyde 
  

66,076 
  

0.79 
  

12,690 
  

0.15 
  

700,000 
  

8.32 
  



Midlothian 
  

121,740 
  

1.50 
  

1,216,718 
  

15.03 
  

80,229 
  

0.99 
  



Moray 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

60,220 
  

0.69 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

564,119 
  

4.15 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

31,320 
  

0.10 
  

539,131 
  

1.68 
  

195,500 
  

0.61 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

100,800 
  

5.24 
  

28,740 
  

1.50 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

669,280 
  

4.96 
  

84,033 
  

0.62 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

146,160 
  

0.85 
  

1,073,320 
  

6.21 
  

92,480 
  

0.54 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

93,050 
  

0.87 
  

108,167 
  

1.01 
  

92,753 
  

0.87 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

74,680 
  

3.40 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

28,603 
  

1.30 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

554,230 
  

4.94 
  

60,700 
  

0.54 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

236,550 
  

0.78 
  

51,380 
  

0.17 
  

1,221,819 
  

4.04 
  



Stirling 
  

133,300 
  

1.55 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

21,000 
  

0.24 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

300,000 
  

3.21 
  

0 
  

0.00 
  

224,366 
  

2.40 
  



West Lothian 
  

929,826 
  

5.85 
  

500,000 
  

3.14 
  

94,080 
  

0.59 
  



Total 
  

7,535,986 
  




14,010,966 
  




9,154,261

Maritime Issues

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it has in negotiations at European Union and European Commission level on maritime issues and what meetings it has attended on such issues with the (a) European Union, (b) European Commission and (c) International Maritime Organisation, detailing its role at, and the nature of, such meetings.

Nicol Stephen: The UK Government is responsible for EU and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) negotiations and the Executive contributes to the UK line on all devolved matters. The Executive has contributed to and participated in meetings between the European Commission and member states.

  Some maritime transport issues are devolved, including support for lifeline ferry services. The Executive has had a number of meetings and discussions with the European Commission regarding the Northern Isles and Clyde and Hebrides ferry services. These concerned the issues involved in implementing the EU Council Regulation 3577/92 on Maritime Cabot age and the Community Guidelines 97/C/205/5 on State Aids to Maritime Transport.

  The Executive has had no meetings with the IMO. Maritime safety is a reserved matter and is the responsibility of the Department for Transport and its agency, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

NHS Contracts

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rules are for the tendering of contracts for the design, build, equipping and operation of NHS buildings and how it ensures that such rules are complied with.

Malcolm Chisholm: Guidance on procurement strategies and the appointment of consultants and contractors for works projects is contained in NHS HDL (2001) 47 entitled Construction Procurement Policy. This Health Department Letter (HDL) provides an unambiguous statement of departmental policy including those mandatory requirements with which all NHSScotland bodies must comply.

  This policy aims to ensure that NHSScotland property is acquired and used efficiently, coherently and strategically … and to ensure that NHSScotland Bodies are best practice clients of the construction industry.

  Day-to-day responsibility for implementing and monitoring construction projects lies with NHS bodies.

  However, as part of the capital investment process, NHS bodies are required to produce Post Project Evaluation Reports. Completion of these reports assists the Scottish Executive to obtain an overview of performance and monitor compliance with Executive policy on major investment projects.

NHS Contracts

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current position is regarding the tendering exercise for the design, build, equipping and operation of a new ambulatory care and diagnostic unit at Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow; whether it is satisfied with how this exercise has been conducted, and whether the tendering of these services will ensure value for money and quality of services to patients in the Greater Glasgow NHS Board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Following approval of the Outline Business Case by the department’s Capital Investment Group, an advert was placed in the OJEC ( Official Journal of the European Community ) for both the North and South Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic Units. Only one bid was received for the project and currently an evaluation of that bid is being made. This evaluation involves comparing the bid with the Public Sector Comparator produced as part of the Business Case process, seeking advice from financial, legal and technical advisers as appropriate and discussion with the Scottish Executive’s Health Department and Financial Partnership Unit on the merit of proceeding with the single bidder. Ultimately a decision based on value for money criteria will be taken either to proceed with the existing bid or to re-advertise the project.

  Greater Glasgow Health Board’s internal auditors are also engaged in the process and it is anticipated that a decision will be taken at the October meeting of Greater Glasgow NHS Board.

  The Capital Investment Group approved the Outline Business Case in January this year and since that date the Health Department has been fully engaged in the process. This has included departmental presence on both NHS Greater Glasgow’s Acute Services Executive Implementation Group and the ACAD Hospital Implementation Board.

  The Executive is therefore satisfied that this project has been conducted in compliance with current guidance the underlying philosophy of which is to ensure that construction projects deliver value for money and provide fit for purpose high quality environments for patient treatment in Scotland.

NHS Contracts

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it would not award a contract for the design, build, equipping and operation of an NHS facility following a tendering exercise.

Malcolm Chisholm: The decision on whether or not to award a contract following a tendering exercise is a matter for the NHS body involved.

  However, whether proceeding under a PPP/PFI procurement route or under a more traditional design and building contract, the NHS body should be guided by advice issued by the Scottish Executive Health Department in its Construction Procurement Policy.

  Advice on selection processes recommends that only the most appropriate organisations capable of carrying out the required work are short-listed. These short-listed parties will then proceed to the Award Process which will involve the development of detailed award criteria appropriate and specific to the particular project and relevant to assessing whether the bids being evaluated provide value for money.

  Projects are weighted both for quality and cost, the quality/price ratio being determined by the type and value of the particular project being considered.

  In the event that the tender evaluation team is not satisfied that any of the short-listed tenderers satisfies the threshold requirements of the award criteria, it is conceivable that a decision could be taken not to award a contract.

Prescription Charges

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the criteria for assessing which illnesses qualify for free prescriptions.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is committed to reviewing NHS prescription charges for people with chronic health conditions and young people in full-time education or training. The detailed remit of the review and the associated consultation arrangements are still under consideration.

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place a copy of the unpriced trunk road maintenance contracts with BEAR Scotland Ltd and Amey Highways Ltd in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-25884 on 28 May 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  A generic copy of an unpriced contract document for the South West Unit is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 16573). The terms of each of the four unit contracts with BEAR Scotland Ltd and Amey Highways Ltd are the same except for references to each unit's trunk roads and the trunk road assets within each unit.

Traffic

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the main causes of traffic congestion are and what measures are in place, and are being considered, to deal with the issue.

Nicol Stephen: Traffic congestion occurs when demand for road space, usually at certain times of day, outstrips supply. On the demand side, the main causes are large numbers of parents driving their children to school and commuters driving to work, which place particularly high stress on the road network during the morning and evening rush hours. On the supply side, the main causes are badly planned road works or gaps in road infrastructure. However it is caused, congestion is bad for the economy, local communities and the environment and frustrates all road users, including buses, taxis and cycles.

  The Scottish Executive is pursuing a range of policies to tackle congestion. There are four basic elements. Firstly, the Executive is committed to major improvements in public transport services supported by the delivery of new infrastructure. By the end of 2006, the Scottish Executive will be spending £1 billion per year on transport, of which 70% will be targeted on public transport including park and ride, improved rail services and bus priority measures. Public transport must provide an attractive and realistic alternative to driving. Secondly, the Executive will support local authorities bringing forward plans to introduce appropriate road user charging schemes. Thirdly, the Executive is committed to delivering a number of key road improvement projects provided there is clear evidence of public support. Fourthly, the Scottish Executive is looking at new proposals to improve the coordination of utility company roadworks, which are a significant source of congestion.

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-915 by Nicol Stephen on 21 July 2003, whether it has any estimates of the capital cost of each transport infrastructure project and, if so, what these estimates are, and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Nicol Stephen: Most of our major public transport projects are actually promoted by others, for example City of Edinburgh Council for trams and Strathclyde Passenger Transport for the Glasgow Airport Rail link. In these instances the best current estimates would be available from the promoter. Generally only motorways and trunk roads are promoted by Scottish ministers directly. We take a firm view of the costs at the stage when a business case is presented to the Executive and we are invited to contribute to the funding.

Young People

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided for initiatives to divert young people from crime, in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: Diversionary activities includes a wide variety of services, ranging from early intervention and positive alternatives for young people, to more intensive services aimed at tackling young people's offending. Since 1999, allocations given as part of the Local Government Finance settlement to local authorities for social work and community education, to provide these services has totalled £312.5 million in 1999-2000, £317.1 million in 2000-01, £331.1 million in 2001-02, £342.6 million in 2002-03 and £360.1 million in 2003-04. Elements of local authority funding for health and leisure and the quality of life funding have also had a role to play.

  In addition, the Executive has provided direct funding for these services to local authorities and the voluntary sector through initiatives like the Changing Children's Services Fund, the Youth Crime Prevention Fund and the Partnership Drugs Initiative. In 1999-2000 there was no direct funding. Since then funding has totalled £0.9 million in 2000-01, £7.5 million in 2001-02, £25.2 million in 2002-03 and £22.7 million in 2003-04. £1 million was allocated for the summer 2003 initiative, to increase access to leisure and sporting facilities for 12- to 16-year olds.

  There will be continued investment in these and other initiatives to take forward our commitment to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour amongst young people.